Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Before we get to the "meat" of the interview with Karina Fabian and her Three-Meal Crock Pot Roast recipe, I'd like to ask, “Are You the Next Zombie Idol?”

Karina and Damnation Books are looking for someone
to sing the theme song she wrote for her book, I LEFT MY BRAINS IN SAN FRANCISCO. She has the words and the tune, but needs a
singer. They're offering prizes for the
best singer, the most creative audition video, and are giving one in ten
entries a copy of the e-book. The
details are at http://fabianspace.blogspot.com/p/are-you-next-zombie-idol.html

Now, a little about Karina, a friend I met on Broad Universe: Winner of the 2010 INDIE for best Fantasy (Magic, Mensa and Mayhem) and a Global eBook Award for Best Horror (Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator),
Karina Fabian’s writing takes quirky twists that keep her--and her
fans--amused. Nuns working in space, a down-and-out Faerie dragon working off a
geas from St. George, zombie exterminators—there’s always a surprise in
Fabian’s worlds. Karina teaches writing and book marketing seminars
online.

If you were marooned on an island, and Pots & Pens
granted your wish for only one book and one food, what would you choose?A survival guide and zucchini, because I
could plant the seeds and they are near impossible to kill. I’d get thoroughly sick of zucchini, but at
least I would not starve.

It’s stretching your boundaries time. Is
there a food you’d love to learn how to cook or a different genre or type of
book you’d love to try to write? I
want to take some gourmet cooking classes at some point in my life, maybe when
the kids are grown. I’d like to learn
French and Italian. And sushi! How awesome it would be to learn to make
sushi.

Please share one cheesy “writing is like
cooking” thought.The
best stories are like my best cooking creations: I take a little of this from
here, some of that from there, toss them together, put them under heat, and
voila! But just like my stories, my best
meals are never the same twice!

Hot out of the oven: What inspired your
latest book, and what ingredients do you hope make it a tasty treat for
readers? I
Left My Brains in San Francisco is the second in the Zombie Exterminator
Series. Neeta (the heroine from Neeta
Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator) and her partner and boyfriend, Ted, head to San
Francisco for a zombie exterminator’s convention. She’s hoping to relax, meet up with friends,
and maybe further her romance with Ted.
However, the zombies have a different idea. When they rise from their watery graves to
invade the Bay Area, she and her friends will have their hands full!

This
book is two parts situational humor, one part political/social satire, one part
action, and one part romance—sprinkled liberally with zombies.

Leftovers can be great, especially when
the same ingredients are retasked into another magical meal. Name a book that
you wish had a sequel (or another sequel) and what kind of story you think that
literary remix would tell. Of
my books, the ones I wish had sequels, do. I write a lot of second novels, often at the behest of my publishers or
readers, but also because I love the characters; and once they set up shop in
my head, they refuse to leave.

Of
other authors, I dearly wish Madeleine L’Engle had written a book about Charles
Wallace as an adult. The last mention of
him was in one of her Poly O’Keefe novels where “Uncle Charles was on a secret
mission somewhere. We don’t know
where.” It still drives me nuts! I actually have dreamed up a story about
Charles Wallace as an adult having to save multiple universes from a mistake he
did in an alternate universe. Sadly,
I’ll never get to write it with him, but someday, I plan to change the
protagonist and tech the “withining,” and write it myself.

Recipe Row: What favorite recipe do you
have for us today?

Three-Meal Crock Pot Roast

I am a lazy cook by nature, but my family always loves the
3-meal roast, and it takes care of three dinners, unless my crew is really
hungry one day and eats more of the meat than expected. I don’t have an exact recipe for this, so
experiment and have fun.

The night before you want to have it, place one large roast
in the crock pot—the bigger, the better.
Add at least one can of beef broth, plus enough water to cover it. Add spices and condiments to taste. I usually toss in pepper, garlic powder and
onion salt, then pour in a little white wine, barb-be-que or steak sauce, and
soy sauce.

Cook on low overnight

In the early afternoon, if you like carrots, onions or
potatoes with your roast, add more water and cut the veggies and add them. I usually give them 2-4 hours to cook.

Your first meal will be ready—fall-apart roast and
veggies. If you have a big enough roast,
you’ll have left-over meat.

Second meal: Cut up
the leftover meat, and save half of it for a beef pot pie or shepherd’s
pie—there are plenty of recipes online—or reheat it in taco flavoring, or shred
it for sandwiches.

Third meal: Put the rest back into the broth in the crock
pot. Add cut-up veggies, frozen veggies,
canned tomatoes…whatever you like in soup.
Add more water if needed, along with more spices. My mom used to toss in a can of Alphabet
Soup. Put the crock-pot in the fridge
until soup day, then put it back out and cook on low for a couple of hours. (The extra time gives the flavors a chance to
combine.) Serve with rolls.

I LEFT MY BRAINS IN SAN FRANCISO: Zombie problem? Call Neeta Lyffe, Zombie
Exterminator--but not this weekend.

On vacation at an exterminator’s convention, she's
looking to relax, have fun, and enjoy a little romance. Too bad the zombies
have a different idea. When they rise from their watery graves to take over the
City by the Bay, it looks like it'll be a working vacation after all.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Okay, so for some this dish may not excite. But I LOVE
sauerkraut. I also love Kimchi and any cabbage product for that matter, and hey,
it's really, really good for you, but that's for another post.

Today I'm sharing a dish I make for potluck dinners like the
one I'm attending on Friday.

It's kid friendly, believe it or not, because it involves
some syrup.

It's cook-friendly because you just need to use a knife and
a crock pot and a few hours.

Ingredients:

2 links of Hillshire Farm Kielbasa (turkey/pork)

1 bag of silver floss sauerkraut, please, for all that is
holy about sauerkraut, don't used canned. The thing that makes sauerkraut
really good for you is best in the fresh bag in the produce section

1 bottle pancake syrup or if you're daring maple syrup

Get out the crock-pot. Empty the bag of sauerkraut into the
bottom, include the juice. If you want a nice hit of antioxidants take a sip.
*pucker*

Cut up the Kielbasa in 1-2 inch slices. Add to the crock pot.

Now add the syrup. I usually use about half of a 12 oz.
bottle of pancake syrup.I've tried this
with maple syrup but I can't bring myself to dump that much maple syrup into
the pot, pancake syrup works fine. Just don't use the butter-flavored kind. ew.This is to taste and you can always add more syrup
at the end of cooking.

Now place the crock-pot on low for 3 hours. This blends the
flavors together and makes for a really yummy dish.My crock-pot is always empty afterwards!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. The kids are back in school and I can get a little time in to catch up on the to-be-read list. I enjoy curling up on the couch and (yes, I'll admit it) indulging a high calorie snack while I read.

One of those snacks is a nice slice of cake. The only problem, juggling the plate, fork, and book without getting crumbs all over your lap. Well, I found a simpler way. A friend of mine dropped by the other night with a treat. Cake in a jar. We ate it like you would a pudding cup, and it was lip smacking good too. With the holidays approaching I thought these would make cute little neighbor gifts as well. They are simple and quick to make, even the frosting is almost too simple.

Directions
For the cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a medium bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beat/whisk in between each time. Add the vanilla and beat until mixed well.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl. Add half the flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until incorporated. Mix in the half-and-half, then remaining half of flour mixture.

Spray the inside of jars with nonstick spray and fill each jar up half way with batter. Place jars on cookie sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the Chocolate Ganache: Boil half-and-half in a saucepan. Add chocolate chips. Remove from burner and let the Ganache sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth.

Once the cakes are done, let cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon the Chocolate Ganache On top. Top jars with vacuum seal lids, the heat from the cake will seal lids as the cake cools.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Call it serendipity, but when I started thinking about what to write for today, I came across the following post by my friend Cindy Sample. A fellow L&L
Dreamspell author, Cindy brings humor and romance to her murder mysteries. So I asked to share her thoughts AND a link to the PASSIONATE COOKS free cookbook! Take it away, Cindy...There’s a nasty rumor going around that I can’t
cook. I’m not sure where this rumor started, but I’m guessing it began
somewhere in my kitchen. Maybe near that burner that ignited the last time I
tried to sear a salmon.

Possibly it originated in the microwave. Have you
ever seen a hot dog explode? It’s quite a sight.

I’m still peeling dried sweet potato fluff off my
kitchen cabinets from last Christmas. They did add a nice orange luster to the
oak, though.

The cooking gene seems to have skipped a
generation in my family. Fortunately, my children determined at an early age
that they preferred to eat food that did not come packaged in Styrofoam
cartons, so they learned to cook to avoid starving to death. My daughter
particularly excels in baking any recipe that involves chocolate, while I excel
in eating any recipe that involves chocolate!

When All Romance e-books asked if I wanted
to be included with the hottest romance authors in town, and all I had to do
was contribute a recipe to their new Passionate Cooks, I immediately
said yes. I wasn’t going to let a little thing like my inability to distinguish
between a TSP. and a TBSP. stop me from
swapping recipes with other romance authors.

I have no idea what Sexy Stromboli is, but I
definitely want one. I’m just not sure if I want it in the kitchen or my
bedroom!

My own contribution is a recipe that was not handed
down from generation to generation. It was handed up from my daughter. With a
slight tweak from moi. In honor of my passion for ballroom dancing, I’ve named
it Hot Cha Cha Cha Chipotle Cake. Once you’ve eaten a slice, you’ll
need to cha cha off those tasty calories.

ABOUT CINDY SAMPLE:After one too many corporate mergers, Cindy Sample found herself plotting
murder instead of plodding through paperwork. Her first Laurel McKay
mystery, DYING FOR A DATE, combines bad dates, real estate, a few dead
bodies, and plenty of giggles. The sequel, DYING FOR A DANCE, which she describes as Murder She Wrote meets
DWTS, won the Northern California Publishers & Authors 2011 Best Fiction Award. The book was also a finalist for the LEFTY Award for
best humorous mystery. RT Book Reviews says “Sample’s sleuth is an endearing
character readers will adore.”

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The devil is in the details—or so the saying goes. Likely,
most writers who’ve spent much time editing would agree. After spending months
or even years crafting a plot, characters, and all the bigger picture issues,
it’s the little things that make the difference.

Do the words just
and very pop up everywhere? Are
adverbs sprinkled too liberally or emotions too sparsely? Is your main
character even facing the right direction to be blinded by the sun in the big
fight scene? Worst of all, is there an easy solution on page 12 that most
readers would notice though none of the characters think about it until page
200?

Even something as simple as names can make a book unravel.
If the names don’t sound authentic to the culture or time period, if they’re
all hopelessly unpronounceable, a story can lose its bite. Never mind the mental
chaos that ensues from names that are too similar. Just try setting loose a
Jeremy, a Jerry, and a Jimmy in the same book, and see how many people still
follow who’s doing what. The devil is in the details, and, unfortunately, there
are thousands of details that require attention before releasing a book into
the world.

The details cannot be ignored, but neither can they be elevated
above what matters most: the story. In the end, there’s always going to be
untouched rough spots and perfect words that were never found. That’s okay. At
a certain point, you’ve just got to cross your fingers and hope that the devils
still hiding in your manuscript are simultaneously tiny yet obvious enough for
your critique partners, agent, and editor to squash them like the pests they are.

To get you going, here’s a recipe without too many details.
Even better, the details that remain can be easily changed to fit your mood and
the tastes of your guests.

Deviled Eggs

1 dozen large eggs

¼ c. fresh onion, minced

1 tsp. olive oil

½ c. mayo (I used Hellmann’s light mayo.)

2½ tsp. Dijon mustard

½ tsp. Tabasco

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. onion salt

a pinch of cumin

chili powder (for sprinkling)

Hardboil one dozen large eggs. (Click here for one set of boiling directions--there are many variants.) While eggs are boiling, sauté minced onion in olive oil over
medium heat until onion is translucent.

After eggs have cooled, carefully slice them in half
lengthwise. Place whites on serving tray and put yolks in a medium bowl. Mash
yolks with a fork. Mix in onions, mayo, mustard, and Tabasco. Add pepper, onion
salt, and cumin. Stir well. Taste yolk mixture, and adjust according to your
preferences.